It's now time to look toward next season. To let you know at a glance which key players from the top teams were seniors this past season and thus not returning, and who are some key players who are returning, I present a list below of the top teams' senior losses and top returnees.

Further information on who the top players from this past season were can be found by looking at the first-, second-, and third-team NFCA/Louisville Slugger All-America honorees. And don't forget the team-specific home pages in the links section to the right.

Note also that with 2008 being a Summer Olympics year, some of the players listed below as returning may redshirt to concentrate on the Olympics (there's a discussion thread at Ultimate College Softball entitled, "Looking at Next Year," which lists some players who may fall into this category). With these cautions in mind, here we go...

WORLD SERIES TEAMS

Arizona
Seniors: Kristie Fox (SS), Caitlin Lowe (CF), Chelsie Mesa (2B)

Key returnees: Callista Balko (C, Jr.), Sam Banister (1B, So.), Jenae Leles (3B, So.), Taryne Mowatt (P, Jr.), Laine Roth (1B, So.) (year of school shown is from past season)

Tennessee
Seniors: Monica Abbott (P), India Chiles (OF), Lindsay Schutzler (OF)

Key returnees: Tonya Callahan (1B, Jr.), Shannon Doepking (C, Jr.), Kenora Posey (2B, Jr.)

Northwestern
Seniors: Eileen Canney (P), Garland Cooper (1B)

Key returnees: Lauren Delaney (P, Fr.), Erin Dyer (C, So.), Kelly Dyer (OF, Fr.), Tammy Williams (SS, So.)

Washington
Seniors: Dominique Lastrapes (2B), Dena Tyson (1B)

Key returnees: Ashley Charters (SS, Jr.), Danielle Lawrie (P, So.; from Canada, so may be of particular interest to her country's Olympic program)

DePaul
Seniors: Tracie Adix (P), Kate Sheaks (LF)

Key returnees: Becca Heteniak (P-UT, Fr.), Jackie Tarulli-Fisher (C, So.), Sandy Vojik (UT, Jr.)

Arizona State
Seniors:

Key returnees: Katie Burkhart (P, Jr.), Kaitlin Cochran (OF, So.)

Baylor
Seniors: Lisa Ferguson (P), Chelsi Lake (C), Ashley Monceaux (1B), Miriam Romero (OF)

Key returnees: Courtney Oberg (DP, Fr.), Brette Reagan (3B, So.), Kirsten Shortridge (P, Fr.), Nicole Wesley (OF, Fr.), Tiffany Wesley (OF, Fr.)

Texas A&M
Seniors:

Key returnees: Amanda Scarborough (P-1B, Jr.), Megan Gibson (1B-P, Jr.)

SUPER-REGIONAL TEAMS

Cal State Fullerton
Seniors: Candice Baker (P)

Key returnees:

Michigan
Seniors: Rebekah Milian (OF), Lorilyn Wilson (P), Tiffany Worthy (C)

Key returnees: Samantha Findlay (1B, Jr.), Angela Findlay (OF, Fr.), Nikki Nemitz (P, Fr.)

Hawaii
Seniors: Tyleen Tausaga (1B)

Key returnees: Kate Robinson (P, Jr.), Clare Warwick (3B, So.)

Florida
Seniors:

Key returnees: Stacey Nelson (P, So.), Kim Waleszonia (2B, So.)

Oklahoma
Seniors: Norrelle Dickson (3B)

Key returnees: Lauren Eckermann (P, Jr.), Amber Flores (LF, Fr.), Savannah Long (SS, Jr.), Susan Ogden (C-DP, Jr.), Samantha Ricketts (1B, So.)

Alabama
Seniors:

Key returnees: Chrissy Owens (P, Jr.), Lauren Parker (2B, So.), Brittany Rogers (OF, So.)

LSU
Seniors: Leslie Klein (OF), Emily Turner (P)

Key returnees: Jazz Jackson (OF, Fr.), Killian Roessner (C, Jr.)

South Carolina
Seniors: McKenna Hughes (UT)

Key returnees: Melissa Hendon (P, Jr.), Jessica Josker (OF, Jr.)

SELECTED OTHER NCAA TOURNEY TEAMS

Missouri
Seniors: Leanne Bowers (OF)

Key returnees: Micaela Minner (OF, Jr.), Amanda Renth (IF, Jr.)

Ohio State
Seniors: Jamee Juarez (P)

Key returnees:

Oregon State
Seniors: Brianne McGowan (P), Ta'Tyana McElroy (P)

Key returnees:

Texas
Seniors:

Key returnees: Meagan Denny (P, Jr.), Desiree Williams (SS, Jr.)

U. Mass.
Seniors:

Key returnees: Brandice Balschmiter (P, So.)

UCLA
Seniors: Kristen Dedmon (PH extraordinaire), Lisa Dodd (IF), Tara Henry (OF), Whitney Holum (OF), Jodie Legaspi (SS)

Key returnees: Krista Colburn (OF, Jr.), Ashley Herrera (IF-OF, Sr., pending approval of medical redshirt), Megan Langenfeld (P, Fr.), Anjelica Selden (P, Jr.)

Virginia Tech
Seniors:

Key returnees: Angela Tincher (P, Jr.)

Update: I started a discussion thread at Ultimate College Softball to let softball fans know about this list of senior losses and key returnees. In response, people have been posting player names on the UCS thread, of ones I had omitted.